The HESO Project Evaluation of Economic and Social Measures 2005
11.
Non-passing of Investment State Aid of the Total Amount of nearly SKK 7bn (direct state aid from the State Budget - 21% of the total amount of the investment) to the South Korean Tyre Producer – the Hankook Company
90.3 2.04 44.2 3/2005 3/2005
12.
Amendment to the Act on Prices (deregulation of apartment rental prices from July 2007; complete cancellation of price regulation in tax consultancy; delegation of competencies in the urban mass transport price regulation from the higher territorial units to communities; expanding the competencies of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic by appraising and sanctioning the misuse of dominant standing of companies imposing unreasonable prices)
85.2 1.72 49.4 1/2005 1/2005
13.
Amendment to the Income Tax Act (increase in tax-deductible flat expenses for tradesmen from 25% to 40%; child tax bonus increase from SKK 450 to SKK 540 per month; cancellation of old age insurance premium rate decrease by 0.5% per each child; non-approval of lower limit increase and upper limit introduction for the assigned sum of 2% of income taxes for public beneficial services)
80.5 1.66 48.5 4/2005 4/2005
14. Concept of accelerating the postal service market liberalisation (reduction of postal charges for deliveries up to 50 g from
January 1, 2006; fully liberalised market from January 1, 2007) 78.7 1.72 45.7 2/2005 2/2005 15. Amendment to the Act on Banks (increase of information duties
on the part of banks in relation to clients in terms of bank
product prices) 77.1 1.76 43.9 4/2005 1/2006
16.
Act on Illicit Work and Illicit Employment (definition of illicit work and illicit employment; straitening the scope for illicit employment; widening the obligations of evidence and registration towards the Social Insurance Agency; extension of inspections; stricter sanctions)
73.6 1.46 50.5 1/2005 1/2005
17.
Amendment to the Act on Remuneration of some employees performing work in the public interest (introduction of new salary tariffs for pedagogy workers; increase of salaries for teachers in elementary and secondary schools on average by SKK 2,000 per month; tariff increase per each taught year by 1% in the case of up to 16 years of practice and by 0.5% per each year in case of 17 to 32 years of practice; allowing for the award of a personal extra pay for methodical education up to the amount of 100% of the salary tariff increased by 24%)
70.1 1.50 46.7 1/2005 1/2005
18.
New Act on Public Procurement (approximation of law to the EU; making the terms of use of discussion proceedings without publication stricter; introduction of electronic auctions; allowing for central procurement organisation incorporation; introduction of bail with claim proceedings)
68.7 1.29 53.3 3/2005 4/2005
19.
Draft Amendment to the Act on Public Procurement (duty to inform the Office for Public Procurement on the selection of the method for discussion proceedings without publication 14 days prior to contract conclusion; fine of SKK 500,000 for non-provision of information; exclusion of the possibility of discussion proceedings without publication in the case of an offer for the so-called bargain price; curtailing the time pressure definition)
66.9 1.58 42.5 1/2005 -
20.
Amendment to the Act on Parental Allowance (parental allowance provision in a single amount of SKK 4,110 – also for working parents who shall ensure child care with another natural person or legal entity; counterbalancing the maternity benefit to the parental allowance level, if the maternity benefit is lower than the parental allowance)
61.6 1.50 41.1 1/2005 2/2005
21.
Amendments to 6 health care acts (leaving at least 51% state shares in transformed medical facilities; non-allowance for pharmacy network establishment; introduction of payroll duty for the voluntarily unemployed; allowing for charging preferential out-patients examination; extending the range of patients exempt from flat service charges; duty to publish criteria for insurance policyholder registration on the waiting list; categorisation of medicines and diseases with regard to the financial possibilities of the state)
60.3 0.96 62.6 2/2005 2/2005
22.
Amendment to the Act on Deposit Protection (change of annual contribution amounts on the part of banks to the Deposit Protection Fund for the duration of debt position thereof from the fixed 0.75% on deposits to the interval of 0.2% - 0.75%;
contribution amount in 2006 – 0.2%)
56.5 1.66 34.0 4/2005 4/2005
23. Tax bonus sum increase from SKK 4,800 to SKK 5,400 per annum (from SKK 400 to SKK 450 per month) (Amendment to
the Income Tax Act) 50.8 1.23 41.2 2/2005 2/2005
24.
Amendment to the Act on Railways (amendment to the terms of access to the railway transport road, assignment of capacity thereof, regulation of railway transport, its prices and safety, rights and obligations on the part of regulated subjects;
incorporation of the Office for Railway Transport Regulation)
48.4 1.36 35.5 1/2005 1/2005
25.
Concept of Additional Privatisation of 51% Shares of the Západoslovenská energetika Company (direct sale of 41% shares to the current owner - E.ON, sale of 10%
shares through public offer on the Bratislava Stock Exchange)
41.9 0.95 44.2 4/2005 4/2005
26. Dissolution of the Fund for Foreign Trade Support (transfer of employees and property to the Slovak Investment and Trade
Development Agency SARIO) 39.5 1.74 22.7 1/2005 1/2005
27. Deferral of the obligations related to the so-called archives (a file of all the documents produced as a result of business
of both the legal entities and natural persons) for 2 years 38.6 1.14 33.8 2/2005 2/2005
28.
Amendment to the Employment Services Act (less frequent duty of calls of active unemployed at the Labour Offices; reduction of the maximum amount of the contribution to education and labour market preparation of the job applicant depending on the number of
educational activities; increase of the contribution to graduate practice by SKK 200 to SKK 1,700 per month;
cancellation of the contribution (SKK 1,000 per month) to employers with which the graduate practice is executed; cancellation of the contribution to moving for jobs (maximum of SKK 10,000 in two years);
introduction of a new contribution to commuting to work (maximum of SKK 2,000 per month for 1 year) for disadvantaged unemployed; expansion of the category of so-called disadvantaged job applicants; limitation of the maximum amount of the contribution to employer toward employing a disadvantaged job applicant in dependence on the average wage in the Slovak economy)
38.2 0.89 42.8 4/2005 4/2005
29.
Pilot Project of Financing and Operating Motorways by Means of Public Private Partnership (PPP) (selection of private concessionaires for sections of motorways for 25 years; state stake in the concessionary company; annual payments to concessionaires first from the State Budget and then from the toll)
37.7 0.85 44.5 2/2005 2/2005
30. Reduction of the state premium (bonus) for building savings from 14.5% to 10% and the maximum amount from SKK 2,500
to SKK 2,000 (Amendment to the Act on Building Savings) 37.1 1.09 34.2 4/2005 4/2005
31.
Draft Amendment to the Act on Social Security of Policemen (pension for life in service only after the age of 50 and 15 years in service; entitlement to claim for retirement benefits after 10 years in service; higher retirement benefits)
34.6 1.18 29.2 4/2005 -
32.
Pilot project of the Ministry of Culture of the SR - Monitoring the Visit Rate of Cultural Events (getting ready for financing change – financing depending to a higher degree on the number of visitors)
31.4 1.11 28.3 4/2005 4/2005
33.
Differential Increase in Pension Benefits in 2005 Depending on their Amounts (up to 10.2%; 0% in pensions over SKK 15,824; extending of the reference period for calculation of pensions based on earnings from the period starting with 1994 to the period starting with 1984)
30.1 0.58 51.7 2/2005 2/2005
34.
Amendment to the Act on Local Taxes (delimitation of upper limits for local taxes on lands and buildings as 20- and 40-multiple of the lowest rate thereof in the
community/town)
29.8 0.63 47.2 3/2005 4/2005
35. Ratification of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for
Europe by the Slovak Parliament 29.5 0.51 57.4 2/2005 2/2005 36.
Measures proposed by the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic for compensation of increasing household expenditures on energies (increase in selected social benefits)
28.0 0.66 42.2 3/2005 3/2005
The HESO Project Evaluation of Economic and Social Measures 2005
37.
Supplementing the Land Price under the KIA Plant in Žilina up to SKK 350 per square metre to the Owners who Initially Sold them for SKK 136 per square metre and the Purchase of Plots of Land under the Plant Infrastructure for SKK 350 per square metre
(supplementing the price was subject to a declaration on their honour from owners to stop court proceedings and to sell the land for the infrastructure)
27.0 0.67 40.1 3/2005 3/2005
38.
New Act on Forests (defining rights and obligations;
compensations for ownership rights restriction; allowing for increased harvests in forests; free access for the public also to the private forests)
24.7 0.71 34.8 2/2005 2/2005
39.
Draft Amendment to the Act on Old-Age Pension Savings (voluntary entry to the fully-funded pension scheme also for new entrants to the labour market; 100% state guarantee for the paid contributions to old-age pension savings)
22.4 0.41 54.3 1/2005 -
40.
Strategy for the new Slovak National Theatre (SND) building construction completion, operation and financing (construction completion from public resources; resources can be obtained from the sale of the SND lands and buildings; the new building is in the state ownership; the new building manager – newly established semi-budgetary organisation – Asset Manager; new building use also for commercial purposes)
20.2 0.62 32.7 2/2005 3/2005
41.
Act on Political Parties (making the rules of political parties' economic management stricter; publishing more information on their financing; increasing state contributions for political parties; cancellation of the limit for expenditures on election)
17.8 0.44 40.9 1/2005 1/2005
42.
Pilot Project of Reimbursement of Travel Expenses Related to Commuting (maximum of SKK 2,000 for the duration of 3 months) for the unemployed in border regions that start to work in neighbouring EU countries
17.2 0.54 31.8 2/2005 2/2005
43.
Amendment to the Higher Education Act (non-sanctioning of unaccredited branches of foreign universities (from the EU and EFTA countries) in Slovakia; introduction of motivational student scholarships financed from the State Budget)
14.6 0.35 42.2 2/2005 2/2005
44.
Act on Driving Schools (unification of the legislative regulations concerning driving schools into one act; making the terms and conditions for driving school business stricter; professional trade required; driving school success rate published on Internet)
11.6 0.50 23.2 1/2005 1/2005
45.
Measures of the National Bank of Slovakia against undue appreciation of the Slovak Koruna exchange rate (decrease in interest rates by 1 percentage point, direct interventions on the foreign exchange market, refusal to deposit redundant liquidity of commercial banks)
5.3 0.11 47.4 1/2005 1/2005
46.
Amendments to Health Care Acts (adjustment of the band of state insurance holders; shifting of the annual clearance of accounts of health insurance premiums to the end of June; health insurance companies will be the classic business subjects – the profit can be divided between shareholders; determination of the maximum level of patient’s co-payments for health care related services and their relation to the subsistence minimum;
determination of the maximum, or minimum proportion of diagnoses that can be fully charged or must be fully covered by the public health insurance – increase in the scope of diseases with a full public health insurance coverage)
2.8 0.05 60.4 4/2005 4/2005
47. Increase in regulated energy and water prices for households from the beginning of 2006 (gas +5.8%, electricity +5%, heat
+17%, water +23.3%) -0.6 -0.01 55.0 4/2005 4/2005
48. Minimum wage increase to SKK 6,900 (by 6.2%, or by SKK 400) -8.0 -0.19 41.4 3/2005 3/2005 49. Acquisition of a majority 62% share in Slovak Airlines by Austrian Airlines by way of a registered capital increase -13.3 -0.47 28.4 1/2005 1/2005
50.
Act on the Property Origin Documentation (if the court admits that the property value exceeds the
documentable incomes by at least thousand times the minimum wage (SKK 6.5m), this property goes to the state; the division of the burden of proof in civil-legal proceedings between the financial police, the
prosecution and the citizen)
-14.9 -0.33 44.6 2/2005 2/2005
51.
Acceleration of the expropriation process in the case of formation of significant investments, highways and roads (in case of significant investments, transfer of expropriation from the communities to the regional building offices; restriction to placing process claims; review of action for expropriation legitimacy by a court within 3 months; Amendment to the Building Act)
-18.8 -0.41 45.5 2/2005 2/2005
52. Increase in regulated gas prices (by 20%) and heat (by 12%) for households since October 2005 -22.1 -0.46 48.4 3/2005 3/2005 53. Increase in court charges (Amendment to the Act on Court Charges and Charge for Statement of Criminal Records) -38.9 -1.02 38.1 3/2005 4/2005
54.
The Procedure of State Bodies and Public Institutions in the Case of Land under the KIA Plant Infrastructure (entrance of construction companies and mechanisms on private land without the consent of owners; start of preparatory terrain arrangements without construction permission; alleged archaeological research)
-109.2 -2.26 48.3 2/2005 2/2005
The HESO Project Evaluation of Economic and Social Measures 2005
All Evaluated EU Measures ranked by Rating Values
(i.e. Contribution to the Economic and Social Development)
RATING [-300; 300] Quality
[-3; 3] Impor-tance(%)
Evaluated (Q/Year)
1.
Directive on the Recognition of Professional
Qualifications (recognising qualification of professional workers in the EU Member States based on a diploma from the home country on the basis of coordinated minimum standards; in special cases, the possibility of checking of the worker by the host country)
103.5 2.12 48.9 2/2005
2.
Proposal for a Directive on Services in the Internal Market (reduction of obstacles for undertaking in the area of services; exemption from directive in case of services such as public administration, education, financial services, public transportation, electronic communication services; domestic country principle when not settling down in another EU Member State – providing services in the entire EU after fulfilling legal requirements of the home country, but also with obligation to respect minimum wage, health and safety regulations and standards in the host country)
77.0 1.40 55.1 1/2005
3.
New rules for car sale within the European Union (more freedom for car sellers within the entire EU; enabling car sale dealerships outside the territory delimited by the car producers; enabling the sale of several brands in one shop)
62.0 1.78 34.7 3/2005
4.
Draft Amendment to the Directive on Charging of Heavy Goods Vehicles for the Use of Certain Infrastructures (single system and charging formula for cars above 3.5t; within limits – possibility of address delimitation of tollage amount depending on country preferences; possible charging not only of highways but also other communications; flexible use of toll income, in particular, for renovation and investments in the transport infrastructure)
53.1 1.27 41.9 2/2005
5.
Proposal for a Directive on Portability of Enterprise Supplementary Pension Rights of Employees within the EU (possibility for the employee of selecting between leaving the rights with the old supplementary pension system or transferring them to the employee pension scheme with the new employer; delimitation of minimum standards for the terms of acquisition of rights to the enterprise supplementary pension, for terms of keeping the so-called deferred rights to pension and for transferability of acquired rights; 10-year deferral of full transferability of rights for not fully-funded pension schemes)
52.0 1.34 38.7 4/2005
6.
Relaunch of the Lisbon Strategy from the Year 2000 (new strategy to support economic growth and
employment in the EU; focusing on fewer objectives and removing time intention – year 2010 – to achieve the most competitive economy in the world; accent on the so-called knowledge-based economy – backing
education, science, research, innovation and improving the quality of human capital; creating more and better job opportunities; responsibility of each Member State for Strategy implementation – elaborating own national Lisbon strategies and action plans; creating national co-ordinators)
51.0 1.01 50.5 1/2005
7. Rejection of the EU Directive on Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions by the European Parliament (rejection
of the stronger single patent protection within the entire EU) 32.4 0.8 40.4 3/2005
8.
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals - REACH (revision, indication and simplification of legislation regulating the chemical sector;
more severe evaluation, authorisation and control of all the chemicals used on the EU market; exceptions only for substances produced in small quantities; more severe conditions for dangerous chemicals; incorporation of the European Chemicals Agency)
29.1 0.80 36.6 4/2005
9. Single statute for the European Parliament members (single salary in the amount of EUR 7,000 from the EU budget; travel
reimbursements according to the actual expense amounts) 17.3 0.81 21.3 2/2005
10.
Proposal for a Directive on Motor Vehicle Third Party Liability Insurance (minimum insurance coverage - EUR 1m per victim or EUR 5m per the whole insurance event – countries can select; 5-year transient period; indemnity from the compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance also for non-vehicle traffic participants; in case of travel to other EU country, the home country compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance; central register of information on accidents)
2.5 0.07 37.1 1/2005
11.
Agreement between the European Union and the People's Republic of China on the Restriction of the Increase of Chinese Textile Export to the EU (maximum limits for permitted import increase – from 8% to 12.5% depending on kind of commodity;
measure valid until the end of 2008)
1.6 0.04 43.0 2/2005
12.
Proposal for a Directive on Retention of Data Processed in Connection with the Provision of Public Electronic
Communication Services (duty on the part of operators to store the communication data - names, addresses, numbers, time, location, not the content of the communication; record archiving for 6 months up to 1 year; member countries shall recompense the operators for proved additional costs)
-7.0 -0.17 40.9 3/2005
13.
Relieving the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact Rules (allowing "temporary" and "soft" exceeding of the 3% of GDP threshold for fiscal deficit; defining the sphere of factors for which exceeding is allowed)
-45.8 -0.80 56.9 1/2005
14. European Commission’s Proposal to Harmonise the
Corporate Tax Base across the EU -79.0 -1.38 57.2 4/2005
The HESO Project Evaluation of Economic and Social Measures 2005